Meet Paddington the Bear, the West End’s newest star.
As previews begin in London, “Paddington the Musical” has revealed a short teaser and first-look images showing a glimpse at how the iconic bear will come to life on stage. The life-like puppet is played by two people: James Hameed, who is an off-stage remote puppeteer, and Arti Shah, an on-stage performer. To know exactly how the bear works, “Paddington” fans will have to go to the show and see it for themselves.
Jay Brooks
The team behind the bear includes Tahra Zafar, Paddington Bear designer; Audrey Brisson, bear physicality associate director; Phill Woodfine, remote puppetry coach; and Annabelle Davis, Paddington Bear casting director. Alternate Paddington on-stage performers are Abbie Purvis and Ali Sarebani.
“After many years of exploration and development, we are thrilled, alongside Studiocanal, to finally bring Paddington to life on stage,” producers Sonia Friedman and Eliza Lumley said in a statement. “It takes an extraordinary team to share this very special bear with the world — our amazing performers James and Arti, our brilliant alternates Abbie and Ali, and the incredible group of artists led by designer Tahra, alongside Audrey, Phill and Annabelle. Their collective creativity and vision are at the heart of our production, and it has been a true collaboration, helmed by Luke Sheppard, our creative, associate, stage management, production and development teams involved in supporting us in bringing Paddington to life in a truly beautiful and unique way. What we as producers always hoped to achieve was, quite simply, Paddington on stage — and thanks to the immensely talented artists, both on and off stage, we believe we’ve realized that.”
“Paddington the Musical” is now in previews and opens on Nov. 30. Its run has already been extended to Oct. 25, 2026.
Watch the teaser for “Paddington the Musical” below.
Source link
